Computer Access :: Personal Narrative Technology Essays

Computer Access My experience with access to computers has been a roller coaster ride this year at school. At the end of the last year’s school year, when I had to face the scary fact that I would be in charge of producing a 240 page yearbook, I knew that I needed to start planning right then and there. Since I knew the adviser I was taking over for had a TTI laptop on loan from the school and would have to give it back, I wrote the principal a note inquiring how I could get my hands on that precious piece of technology. I knew having an instrument that I could carry with me back and forth to school would make the nightmare of being a yearbook adviser a little bit easier, since I knew I would be devoting a lot of time after school to this second job. Excited about this prospect, I felt like I had been literally punched in the stomach when I got a note back that read "Contact Media Services". After contacting Media Services and asking if I could trade in my TTI IMAC for a laptop, I was told th at the TTI contracts were for three years and I couldn’t make a "trade". I already had my own desktop computer at home, so the IMAC sat next to my computer, only to go unused. What I waste, I thought to myself. But what could I do? I travel to three different classrooms throughout my school day, so I don’t even have anywhere that I can store the IMAC for easy access. Discouraged, one of my fellow English colleagues offered up her TTI laptop, since she had other "access". Excited, I eagerly accepted. I was instantly able to download Adobe PageMaker 7.0 and all of the other yearbook software I would need. Pumped, I still needed to follow up on a proposal that was submitted for an $8,000 technology grant for yearbook computers. I contacted the appropriate person to find out that the grant was approved. Once the check was received at school I contacted a Media Services Specialist from the district who happily helped me pick out computers that would get the yearbook job done. I ended up with four Dell desktops, one of which we call the "Mother Ship" because it has a zip drive, the most memory, and some other bells and whistles.

Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Essay

The modern republics of Poland and Lithuania had been once been a single, strong nation known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This commonwealth was established in 1569. Although there were other states in the commonwealth, none of them was as powerful as Poland. The nation was on the brink of success when the rest of Europe was ravaging in the famous thirty years war between 1618 and 1648. The Commonwealth noblemen had no desire to get involved in these wars and they were able defend the country against external attacks from the Germans, Russians and the Ottoman Turks (TLK). However, the commonwealth’s supremacy and stability did not last for long and there already were clear signs of decline by the mid 17th century. The main cause of the decline was wars that were fought within and outside the commonwealth. Thus, the weakened state could not hold itself together after these wars which ultimately led to its partition. The decline of Poland was basically evincible in the legislative body – Sejm. The divergent systems of the parliament grew ineffective and inefficient at a time when the deputies went verbal asserting â€Å"Liberum Veto† which gave them excessive power over national resolutions. The country’s population had decreased by big proportions as a result of wars. This made it practically impossible for the nation to succeed in its wars against other nations, though they were able to defeat the Ottomans at Vienna. This was the last success realized by the commonwealth military (Davies 24). The Szlachta (noblemen) also diminished in their ability to influence others and consequentially depreciated in military vigor. In a myriad of situations they became impotent and viewed â€Å"veto† as the only remaining legislative symbol within the commonwealth (25). The Decline of the Commonwealth In 1648, the warlike Cossacks, with the support of Russia, upstaged a rebellion against Poland. Thus the Russians began to influence the affairs of the country. Later in 1655, the Commonwealth was involved in another war with Sweden, provoked by the policies of Commonwealth kings from the Swedish royal House of Vasa. The Swedes installed Stanislaw Leszczynski as king. However, they were defeated by the Russians in 1709 and this resulted in the reinstatement of Augustus on the throne (TLK). Augustus was at conflict with parliament and this lead to a civil war in 1717. The Russians responded by reducing the powers of the Sejm, who by now were at the centre of running Poland, came to the rescue of Augustus. This resulted in Poland being forced to cut down the size of her standing army. When Augustus died in 1733, Leszyski returned to the throne. This move was met with resistance from the Russians who forced him out and made Fredrick Augustus, a son to Augustus, king instead. Another blow to the commonwealth was the Saxon rule that lasted for sixty years. It drove the nation to the edges of lawlessness, devastating it even more. A powerful alliance between Russia, Prussia and Australia ensured that Poland’s legal system and maintain ace of order was paralyzed. The three nations formed the â€Å"Alliance of the Three Black Eagles† owing to the fact that all the three had eagles, black in color, on their coat-of-arms (Kjaergard 121). The Partitioning of the Commonwealth By the 18th century, the Commonwealth could not handle the many internal problems that were plaguing it and this made the fragile nation more vulnerable to external influences. The political system was in shambles and this soon culminated to the schism of the commonwealth. The country was partitioned in three stages by the neighboring Russian, Prussian, and Austrian powers (TLK) . The first partition was in 1772, when the Commonwealth lost 733, 000 square kilometers of land together with about four million people. Russia took most of the land while a majority of the population went to Austria. The Sejm ratified the partition agreement despite much resistance from the state’s deputies. After the first partition, there was a period of relative stability that saw to the development of a better education sector in the country. There was a rise in the number of professionals in various fields. The king initialized a healing programme, which was executed by the â€Å"Great Sejm†. The Four Year or Great Sejm came up with a new constitution (Domar 56). â€Å"Liberum Veto† was abolished under the newly formed constitution, changing how the country was governed. people were guaranteed personal freedom and more liberty was enhanced. England, France and the United States hailed the newly formed constitution. On the other hand, this step was viewed as a threat by the rulers of Austria and Russia. This led to a wide instigation of large numbers of magnate under the leadership of Branicki Ksawery, Potocki Szczesny and Rzewuski Seweryn. This was a betrayal of the commonwealth hence leading to the formation of the Targowica Confedaration in disrespect to the declarations of the newly formed constitution (Kjaergard 122) The second partition was as a result of Russian invation. The troops from Russia decided to cross the borders and immediately war broke out. Joseph Poniatowski who was the King’s nephew together with Kosciuszko Tadeusz, a supporter of the American Independence War, erected a vehement resistance although all confidence was crushed after the Prussians joined the fighting. Many people, who would otherwise have been citizens, ran away to other countries. In 1793, Prussia and Russia were obliged to sign the Second Partition Treaty. This led to about About This led to holding in of more than half of the entire nation with a population of about four million people. Later, there was a meeting at Grodno composed mainly of the Sejm which deliberated on the legal processd to make legal the process of partitioning of the country. After the partitioning, there was widespread discontent within the general population (Kostrowicka 34). The final partition in 1795 was the most devastating. A lot of Poles were evicted from their country. The King was seized and taken to prison in St. Petersburg. Other people were sent to the harsh cold deserts of Siberia and thousands more fled to other lands. Conclusion Although Poland’s history is one full of turmoil, a lot can be learnt from it. It is clear that good governance policies should be in place for a country to run smoothly. The heads of state should at the fore front providing the much needed leadership to citizens of their countries. If the Polish constitution had had good policies, and if the leaders were competent enough, then maybe the history of the Poles would be much different and better than it is.

English Second Language Learning Writing vs. Speaking

For many English learners learning to write fluently in English is much more challenging than learning to speak fluently. Even for advanced level learners, written communications can come much more slowly in English than spoken communications. There are a number of reasons for this: Written Communication Is More Formal Writing in English needs to follow rules of grammar much more closely than in spoken English. For example, if someone says Please borrow me your pen in conversation, its clear from the context that the speaker intended to say Please lend me your pen. In written communication, words are even more important because they lack visual context. Especially if you are working in a business setting, making mistakes can cause miscommunication which might lead to problems. In conversation, you can smile and make a good impression. With writing, all you have are your words.   Spoken Communication Allows for More Mistakes Imagine if youre at a party. You might have a conversation with someone and only understand a few words. However, because youre in the context of a party, you can make all the mistakes you want. It doesnt matter. Everyone is having fun. When it comes to writing, theres not so much room for error. Less Reflection Goes Into Spoken English Than Written English Spoken English is much more spontaneous than written English. Its looser and mistakes dont necessarily impact your ability to communicate clearly. In writing, its important to think about how to write to the intended audience. You need to understand who will be reading your writing. It takes time to figure these things out.   Expectations Are Much Higher for Formal Written English We expect more of what we read. We expect it to be true, entertaining or informative. When theres an expectation, theres pressure to perform well. With speaking, with the possible exception of giving a presentation, theres not nearly so much pressure—unless youre closing a business deal.   Tips for Teaching Written English Skills It is important when teaching written English skills - especially for business English - to be aware of the challenges that learners will face when learning to function in a written English environment. The following points can be helpful when considering how to teach English writing skills: Acquiring speech is an unconscious act, whereas learning to write takes a conscious effort on the part of the learner. One reason  many individuals find it difficult to write is because of the necessity of learning a mapping skill in order to use written language.Written language must be filtered through some sort of system, this system can be phonemic, structural or representative, etc. The individual must not only learn to recognize the meaning of words orally but also go through a process of transcribing these sounds.The process of transcribing sounds requires the learning of other rules and structures, thereby cognizing a previously unconscious process. Finding the Right Voice—the Hardest Trick in Writing Another reason some individuals might find it difficult  to write is that written language takes on many different registers depending on the function of the written word. Often, these functions are unrelated to spoken language and can thus be considered artificial to the speaker. These functions are often only used in written speech and are therefore even more abstract to some individuals than the already difficult transcription of simple spoken language into an alphabet. These layers of abstraction, beginning with the transcription of oral sounds into a written alphabet and advancing to solely abstracted functions of written language, are daunting to many individuals who then understandably become frightened of the process. In the worst cases, where individuals do not possess or do not have the opportunity to learn certain cognitive skills, an individual might become fully or functionally illiterate.